Jan 17, 2011—By my count, there are 27 different types of radio frequency identification technology, hybrid systems that combine RFID and something else, and alternative systems that can be used to identify and track objects. The good news is there are many options, but the bad news is that sorting through these systems to discern which is best suited to your particular application and environment can be challenging.

I first conceived of the idea for the guide after talking to end users who often asked me what type of RFID they should utilize to track containers, tools or mobile equipment. I would ask them a series of questions regarding what they wanted to track, over what distance, to within how many feet or inches, and so forth. I would also ask them about the size of the items they wanted to monitor, the materials involved and the environment in which they wished to track those goods.

As I received more calls like this, I realized that we needed to put together a step-by-step guide that could help all of our readers determine the type of RFID technology they required. The end result is "How to Choose the Right RFID System."

The report is broken down into nine sections. Part 1 explains the major types of RFID systems available. Here, we generally discuss passive, active and battery-assisted technology, what those terms mean and how they differ, thus setting the context for the rest of the document.